Government to support backbencher’s tough-on-crime bill

Canadian judges may soon have the ability to impose sentences of up to 40 years in prison without parole to some of the country’s most violent and dangerous criminals.

Thursday morning, Justice Minister and Attorney General Rob Nicholson announced the government’s decision to back a private member’s bill, C-478, the Respecting Families of Murdered and Brutalized Persons Act. The bill, sponsored by Tory MP James Bezan, would alter the criminal code to lengthen parole eligibility for individuals convicted of sexual assault, and abduction of a murder victim. These offenders are currently eligible to apply for parole every two years after serving 25 years in jail.

“The murders we are targeting are the most sadistic of our society,” said Bezan at an early morning press conference. “We want to make sure the courts have the ability to keep people in jail without having to go through the unnecessary parole board hearings.”

But the NDP’s Justice critic Francoise Boivin questions whether the Tory-backed crime bill complies with judicial standards set by the International Criminal Court and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, citing Section 12 of the charter that “protects Canadians against cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.”

Instead of attempting to amend the criminal code, Boivin says the government should focus on strategies that would help support victims in the parole process.

“This is another instance of smoke and mirrors from the Conservatives – presenting an ineffective bill that won’t help the vast majority of victims,” she said in an email.

Bill C-478 goes before the House of Commons Thursday for its second reading.